Wednesday, July 25, 2018

The Lion Man, between 35,000 and 40,000 years old

From Wikipedia: The Löwenmensch figurine or Lion-man of the Hohlenstein-Stadel is a prehistoric ivorysculpture that was discovered in the Hohlenstein-Stadel, a German cave in 1939. The German name, Löwenmensch meaning "lion-human", is used most frequently because it was discovered and is exhibited in Germany.
The lion-headed figurine is the oldest-known zoomorphic (animal-shaped) sculpture in the world, and the oldest-known uncontested example of figurative art. It has been determined to be between 35,000 and 40,000 years old by carbon dating of material from the layer in which it was found, and thus, is associated with the archaeological Aurignacian culture.[1] It was carved out of woolly mammoth ivory using a flint stone knife. Seven parallel, transverse, carved gouges are on the left arm.
After several reconstructions that have incorporated newly found
fragments, the figurine stands 31.1 cm (12.2 in) tall, 5.6 cm (2.2 in)
wide, and 5.9 cm (2.3 in) thick. It currently is displayed in the Ulm Museum, Germany.